Beiqi Foton Motor Co. Ltd. (600166.SH) said its gross profit for the first half of this year stood at 554 million yuan ($85 million), but that the figure would have been a little over 1 billion yuan if the company not still embroiled in “Borgward-related matters,” referring to the sale of a 67% stake in the legacy car brand in 2018.
Despite financial trouble caused by Borgward, Beiqi Foton’s net profit as of June 30 jumped 238.8% from a year earlier, when the entire automotive industry faced disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In December 2018, Beiqi Foton sold its stake in the originally German car brand for 3.97 billion yuan (link in Chinese) to Changsheng Xingye Xiamen Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., which was controlled by ride-hailing provider Ucar Inc., a ride-hailing services provider owned by Luckin Coffee Inc. co-founder and ex-Chairman Lu Zhengyao.